RUSPER MODEL RAILWAY CLUB

The Birchfield goods yard has no passenger facilities. Two lines from Prestwood merge just before entering a fan of seven sidings. The shortest siding is used to store brake vans and there is also a head-shunt for the loco depot.  There are three sidings in the depot yard for engines awaiting the next duty, four stabling lines off the turntable, and three further sidings available for stabling trains such as the Engineer’s train or one of the block freight trains.

This is the best duty if you enjoy shunting trains. The operator, normally the person controlling Prestwood Station, makes up trains from the vehicles in the yard and despatches them via Prestwood to the rest of the system according to instructions on the timetable.

Arriving goods trains are shunted depending on destination indicated by the colour of the pin on each vehicle. Any vehicle with a red pin is retained in the yard but wagons with any other coloured pin will be shunted to make up other trains. When we reach the end of the series of timetables all the freight vehicles at Birchfield should have red pins. Indeed, each goods yard at each of the stations should only have “home” coloured pins.  

Light engine movements are a feature at Birchfield, as locos from other freight trains arrive for turning and others are despatched to join trains elsewhere on the system. Occasionally a “surprise” movement of an engine and one or more brake vans “Propelled under guard’s flag” is included in the timetable. Propelling brakes is used when it is not possible for the engine to run-round a train at the destination. This move was used during our period of operation (and even now though less often) when

it was necessary to push vehicles into or through a block section.

Birchfield Goods Yard